Monday, February 9, 2009

Major oil players Pilipinas Shell, Chevron, and Petron will increase gasoline prices by P0.50 per liter on Tuesday. But the three oil firms will cut the prices of diesel by P0.50 per liter and kerosene by P1 per liter. Chevron will also be hiking the price of its E10 gasoline by P0.75 per liter. Shell's price adjustment will take effect 12:01 a.m., while Petron and Chevron's price change will take effect 6 a.m.

Independent oil firms Seaoil and PTT on Monday night announced yet another round of cutbacks and increase in the price of their pump fuels. Seaoil would slash the price of diesel products by 50 centavos per liter and kerosene products by a bigger P1 per liter. Meanwhile, PTT said it would implement a price cut only on its diesel products. Like Seaoil, PTT will reduce diesel by 50 centavos per liter. However, both Seaoil and PTT would also hike their gas prices by 50 centavos per liter. Price adjustments in Seaoil products are set to take effect at 12:01 a.m. of Tuesday, while those of PTT will be implemented at a later time at 6 a.m. Tuesday.

Forest wastes like coconut husks, leaves, twigs, and branches can now be used as raw materials to produce charcoal briquette, an alternative source of fuel, particularly for liquefied petroleum gas, according to Environment Secretary Lito Atienza.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap will be agonizing in the next few months as rice prices have started to rise, one month after the government admitted it will be importing at least 1.5 million metric tons of rice from Vietnam and Thailand.

President Arroyo approved Monday several proposals to help ease the impact of the world financial crisis on Philippine employment, including waiving penalties on social security loans of laid-off workers and subsidizing employers' fuel in export zones for transporting employees.

Laid off overseas Filipino workers should get an "easy access" to the P1-billion livelihood fund earmarked by the Philippine government to help the latest victims of the global economic crisis get back on their feet, the Department of Labor and Employment was told on Monday.

HUNDREDS of residents lost their homes while close to P40 million worth of government infrastructure, private properties and livestock were destroyed when flashfloods hit three Cebu towns. About 250 families in Santander were affected while several bridges and roads are still impassable. A fisherman—identified as Rudy Lozano—remained missing as of yesterday afternoon. In Samboan town, 95 houses were damaged and 10 were wrecked after flashfloods battered the coastal barangay of San Sebastian last Sunday. Fifteen small fishing boats were damaged while seven remained missing. In Barangay Colase, Samboan, 21 houses were damaged and four houses were destroyed. Four fishing boats were also reported missing. Fifteen houses were also damaged in Barangay Dalahican, Samboan. In Barangay Tangbo, 54 houses were damaged and 11 were wrecked. In Barangay Poblacion, 60 families were also affected; Barangay Bonbon, 15 families; and Barangay Suba, 20 families. In Barili town, the three coastal Barangays of San Rafael, Sta. Ana and Poblacion have been affected by flashfloods. In Ginatilan town, about 80 percent of the water system was cut off due to the calamity.

Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) will start paying out depositors of closed rural banks of the Legacy group this the week with or without a loan from the central bank, PDIC president Jose Nograles said Monday.

Under fire from members of the House of Representatives for failing to pin down Legacy Group owner Celso delos Angeles, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas officials vowed to charge the "mastermind" of the banking scheme that allegedly defrauded thousands of depositors all over the country.

Businessman Celso de los Angeles on Monday accused a former incumbent officials of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) of harassment even as the central bank said it has not filed a case against him for the spate of closures of rural banks.

The Regional Trial Court yesterday granted a provisional relief to ensure that no further human rights violations will be committed against an alleged rebel leader whom the police and the military allegedly held incommunicado since his arrest in Consolacion last week.

First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo must appear as soon as he can before the Senate inquiry into the alleged corruption accompanying infrastructure projects funded by the World Bank, whether he is involved in the anomalies or not, lawmakers said Monday.

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago on Monday said First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo should prove that there is just cause for him to be absent from the scheduled Thursday hearing on the blacklisting of three Filipino firms by the World Bank due to alleged bid rigging.

Opposition Senator Francis Escudero on Monday said he would ask the Senate to subpoena the three Filipino construction firms blacklisted by the World Bank as they have copies of the detailed report on alleged big rigging on government projects.

For Ilocos Norte Representative Ferdinand "Bong" Marcos, all other convicts in the Aquino-Galman double murder case should also be freed, as he criticized the family of the late Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. for trying to pin the blame on the Marcoses.

A Malacañang official on Monday defended the presidential pardon granted to one of the convicted soldiers in the double murder of former senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. and Rolando Galman in 1983, saying that it passed the normal and proper procedures just like other previous clemencies.

Government troops, backed by armed civilian volunteers, have engaged members of the Abu Sayyaf believed to be holding three kidnapped workers of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Sulu province.

More than 50 suspected New People's Army rebels raided Hacienda Nieva, a part of the ECJ (Eduardo Cojuangco Jr.) farms in the village of To-oy, Himamaylan City, at 11:45 p.m. Sunday, police said on Monday.

Three Filipino seafarers were among the freed crew of the Chinese fishing vessel F/B Tianyu, which was released by Somali pirates Sunday, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesman Bayani Mangibin said Monday.

At least 11 have been found positive for using illegal drugs during random drug tests conducted by the Cebu City Office for Substance Abuse Prevention among officials and employees of five barangays last month. Of the 11, one comes from barangay Cogon Ramos, six from barangay Lorega, one from barangay T. Padilla, and three from barangay Calamba.

Even the police ranks are apparently not safe from illegal drug syndicates. The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday admitted that 216 policemen tested positive in a nationwide random drug testing conducted last year, only 80 of whom were dismissed from service.

Police declared incinerated towns crime scenes yesterday, and the prime minister spoke of "mass murder" after investigators said arsonists may have set some of Australia's worst wildfires in history. The death toll rose to 166.

Former first lady Imelda Marcos is out to save the world from economic collapse. She is working for a possible meeting in Washington with US President Barack Obama to discuss the use of multi-billion gold and dollar deposits frozen in various banks worldwide to prop up the global economy. Mrs. Marcos will make a Powerpoint presentation detailing the amount and locations of the gold and dollar deposits as well as the proposed projects that will be funded by the Marcos wealth. Marcos has invited President Arroyo, US First Lady Michelle Obama and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as guests of honor to her 80th birthday party at the Manila Hotel on July 2.